Lecture deals with Islam, the West

Friday, Oct. 22, 2004 | 9:13 a.m.

Author and political commentator Dinesh D'Souza will explore the hostilities between Islam and the West in a special panel discussion Saturday morning sponsored by the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution at the UNLV Boyd School of Law.

D'Souza's lecture on the "clash of civilizations" between Islam, the West and the United States will discuss Islamic criticisms of U.S. foreign policy, culture and moral values in an effort to better understand and respond to those criticisms, the author said.

"I want to make the case for an intelligent patriotism that doesn't duck from the critics but takes into account the full criticism of those outside of America," D'Souza said.

His lecture will be based in part on his New York Times Bestseller "What's So Great about America?" that explores how America has become one of the most loved and most hated cultures in the world, D'Souza said. The book looks at the criticisms and praises of America from the point of view of those in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

D'Souza, a former senior domestic policy analyst for the Reagan White House, grew up in a small Christian sect in Muslim and Hindu dominated Bombay, India, and has spent most of his life studying the differences between Western and Eastern cultures.

Now a fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, D'Souza said he has spent the past few years studying the relationship between Islam and the West.

The 10 a.m. panel at UNLV's Richard Tam Alumni Center will also feature Mujahid Ramadan, founder and president of Ramadan Ballard and Associates; Chris Blakesley, Boyd law professor; and Jean Sternlight, Saltman professor of law and director of the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution from the Boyd School of Law.

"Conflicts and terrorism arising in the Middle East are the most pressing issues of our time," Sternlight said in a statement. "By sponsoring a symposium focused on these conflicts, the Saltman Center hopes not only to educate our students and the public at large, but also to help contribute to making our world a safer and better place for all of its peoples.